Heron Lake State Park, New Mexico – Day 3

In yesterday’s Blog entry I discussed my current problems with the no-see-ums bites on my legs as well as the charging system problems with my Ford Bronco II.

I was determined to do something positive about both problems.

Starting with the no-see-ums bites, I discovered I had a bottle of Witch Hazel which according to the label is a 100% natural astringent for face and body…providing gentle relief for oily, irritated, red, damaged, blemished or inflamed skin. Well, I certainly had a couple of those items so I sloshed it on my legs lavishly and by golly, the stuff worked wonders relieving the itch and pain from the bites. So much so that I did not apply another application for another eight hours just prior to going to bed. Made it through the night with no itching and wonderful sleep.

Witch Hazel is almost a miracle cure. It has many uses. You can read all about this wonderful stuff by clicking this link…
http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_witch_hazel.htm

I was also determined not to get any more bites, so I hunted down a pair of peasant pants I had bought in Guatemala in 2004 during my Central America trip. I had never worn them before.  Light weight and long-legged was what I needed in this heat. The worked really nicely and I got no new bites yesterday. They’re not the sexiest apparel I’ve ever worn, but they got he job done. Here I am in all my glory…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

The two young park rangers that are going to help me do the alternator replacement arrived at 9:00 AM. I had just confirmed that the alternator was actually not working. Here’s a photo of it in place in the Bronco engine compartment…

They agreed to show up at 4:30 PM after they got off of work. I was ready with my spare alternator…

Shortly after they arrived at 4:30…the malfunctioning alternator was out of the Bronco…and…oh no…It was different from my spare! The spare was for my previous 1984 Bronco. The 1984 and 1986 Bronco bodies are identical…but some things are different. Such as the 1984 was a carburetored engine and the 1986 is fuel injected.

I made a call to the nearest Napa auto parts store in Chama, New Mexico…about 25 miles distant. They have what I need in stock. This morning at 9:00 AM, I’m hitching a ride with a neighbor to Chama to pick up the replacement alternator. The young park rangers will return later today to install the new unit.

I’m really glad I engaged them to help me as the malfunctioning unit bolts were on really tight and I certainly would have further strained my already damaged chest muscle from the May 27th accident. The alternator we took out of the Bronco is a Motorcraft…a Ford original part name. So I’m guessing that it was an original factory installed unit which means it lasted 26 years! Pretty amazing!

I’m hoping tomorrow’s Blog entry will be reporting that all is once again well with the Bronco.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Heron Lake State Park, New Mexico – Day 2

Yesterday I went up to the visitors center about one mile away, where I took these photos…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Then down to the boat ramp…

Other than being ten degrees to hot…83 yesterday while I prefer 73…I’m enjoying my stay here. The air is fresh and clean and it’s really quiet. A good place to rest and recuperate from the May 27th accident.

But now I get to tell you about trouble in paradise…three-fold…

First. You can’t see them…but they’re here. No-ee-ms…I guess. They stay close to the ground…you cannot feel them biting you…but they are. Before I knew what was happening…both of my legs had many bites and boy do they itch. I had a terrible nights sleep last night. Up every hour or so scratching my legs with a hair brush and then slathering them with rubbing alcohol for temporary itch relief. I even tried using my favorite itch remedy from my Central America trip…a product called Autan. But I guess it’s too old and has lost its effectiveness. As much as I hate the idea, i guess I’m going to have to wear long-legged pants to avoid further bites.

Second. When I arrived here the battery on my Ford Bronco II was dead and of course it wouldn’t start. Hmmm..wonder why that is…never did that before.  So I jump started it using the motorhome battery…four times! By time I disconnected the battery-jumping cables and got in the vehicle it would stall once again. Hmmm..what the heck is going on. That battery is really dead. Cleaned the battery terminals and put it on the battery charger. Hmmm…the battery charger is only charging at 3 amps instead of the expected 10 amps. Which leads me to number three problem…

Third. This campground apparently has a borderline low voltage problem with the electricity. In talking to my friend Bob Gambol who was already here when I arrived (Bob was my co-planner and travel companion for my 2004 Central America trip)…

Bob tells me this campground was built in the 1970′s and has aluminum wiring which is no longer legal…but apparently there’s no money to upgrade. So instead of getting 120 volts when connected to the campground electrical circuit, one can only get 110 volts.

Back now to my second problem. So the battery charger was not operating at full efficiency and would only produce 3 amps and only put a small charge into my Bronco battery. But here’s the real second problem…after further evaluation I’ve come to the conclusion that the alternator in the Bronco has failed and no longer is charging the battery when the engine is running…but…and here’s the puzzling part…the red idiot light which is supposed to come on to let you know the system is not working…does not light up…so you do not know the system is not working until you end up with a dead battery! I called my good friend and mechanic in Washington about the idiot light problem and he said…yeah…that can happen. I won’t bore you with the technical details.

Long-story…short version. So yesterday I drove the Bronco the about one mile to the visitors center and then the about two miles to the boat ramp…see the above photos. When I went to come back to my campsite…Bronco battery was dead once again. I  flagged down a passing park ranger who jump-started the Bronco…twice….only to have it stall once again. So I hitched a ride back to my campsite and called my friend Bob who knew some other folks here. I begged a tow job for the Bronco back to my campsite where I could work on the problem.

I left the battery charger on all night to get some electrical life back into the battery. After breakfast this morning I’ll check the status of things and confirm that the alternator is in fact not providing an electrical charge. If that’s the case…I just happen to have a spare alternator with me…a throwback to my Central America days of carrying what I consider to be essential spare parts if you happen to be out in the boonies when you breakdown.

Whew…not much rest yesterday. Now my newest problem. Even though I have a spare alternator…because of my May 27th accident and continuing pain…I’m not physically able (I don’t think) to pull the non-functioning alternator and install the new one. I contacted the park host last evening and he will send a mechanically inclined park ranger to see me today and hopefully I’ll be able to pay him to do the physical labor while I supervise the installation of the new unit.

Whew…then maybe I can get back to my rest and recuperation!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust